May 9, 2012
We are now in the tropics – that is we’re south of the Tropic of Cancer. That’s the line on the surface of the earth that the sun is directly over during the northern hemisphere’s summer. There is a corresponding line in the south called the Tropic of Capricorn. Between those lines is the tropics. And now that we’re in the tropics, it’s getting a little warmer. Today, sitting in the sun, putting out the fishing lines for the first time during this passage, I was actually a little hot. I love it! It’s still pretty cool at night but we don’t think we need the long underwear any longer.
The wind is light and it makes for hard sailing conditions. The seas are still a bit large with swells that are about 6 feet. They tend to dump the air out of our sails. This results in a lot of loud banging from the sails and a rolly ride. Last night was really bad and it’s been gradually getting better all day long as the swells get smaller and smaller. Right now, we’re moving along at almost 6 knots (about 6.6 miles per hour). It will be a lower mileage day but not too bad and generally, we’re making progress in the direction we want to go.
The last avocado was devoured today. I’d stop to get more but I can’t seem to get Google maps to work on my phone – can’t find a Ralphs without it. Oh well. Our supplies are holding up very well though. Cyndi did an incredible job of provisioning. We have still plenty of good food on board.
I don’t think I mentioned it before but we’re not alone out here. We’re sailing this course with another boat named Local Talent with skipper and single-hander, Dean Jones. He left Catalina about an hour after us. He’s now about 45 miles ahead of us. We talk on the radio about three times a day. It’s been nice to have Dean nearby. He’s also sailing through the South Pacific with an itinerary very similar to ours. His girlfriend will fly down to meet him at Hiva Oa for the trip through the islands to New Zealand.
We’re seeing about one large ship a day. Early this morning, one passed about two miles behind us. It was coming from the Panama Canal and heading to Hawaii. Our new electronics are great as it allows us to see these ships early, tells us who they are and exactly where they’re headed and how close they’ll pass to us. I would guess we’ll see less and less ships as we head further south. That’s fine by us.
That’s all the news for today from the crew of Legacy. -Rich
